Picture frame or the like



Feb. 10, 1942. H. A. PREW PICTURE FRAME OR THE LIKE Filed July so, 1940 INVENTOR. 450/ wyfl /ew A TTORNEYS.

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2 w y g Patented Feb. 10, 1942 UNITED STTS ATENT GE'ECE PICTURE FRAME OR THE LIKE Harvey A. Prew, North Kingston, R. I., assignor to Pru-les-co Art Metal 00., Inc., a corporation of Rhode Island This invention relates to a picture frame or like article, and has for one of its objects to provide a picture frame from which the glass will not fall to become broken regardless of the presence of a backing member.

Another object of the invention is to provide by a simple means an arrangement for holding the glass of a picture frame in. place and yet permitting a back to be slid from position and entirely removed and the frame tilted or moved about without the backing with no danger of the glass dropping from the frame.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists of certain novel features of construction, as will be more fully described, and particularly pointed out in the appended claim.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the frame with glass therein;

Fig. 2 is a similar view of the back;

Fig. 3 is a section on line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a fragmental portion of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a section at right angles to the section of Fig. 3 through the lower portion of the frame as shown in Fig. 4; and

Figure 6 is a side elevation view of a fragmentary portion of the frame.

Some inexpensive pictures are mounted by means of a metal frame surrounding a glass with the picture back of the glass and a backing back of the picture, and it frequently occurs that when the backing is removed, the glass may drop from the frame; in such arrangements the glass has been so frequently broken that stores do not care to handle frames so constructed; and in order back of the piece of glass, and I2 a cardboard backing of sufficient thickness so as to be relatively stiff although somewhat soft and compressible. A frame designated generally I8 is formed of a strip of channel stock, usually metal,

comprising a bridging wall I5, a front side wall all) I6, shaped in an ornamental fashion by curvatures II and I8 and a back side wall I9 and with the extreme free edge of the portion I8 bent inv wardly to provide a narrow glass engaging surface. This channel-shaped stock has its front side wall I6 and back side wall I9 notched so that the bridging wall I5 may be bent for the formation of corners as at 20, the notch being a -degree V in both of these walls. These notches permit of the bending at the corners to provide the four sides of the frame to provide the opposite vertical sides 22 and top side 23 and bottom side 24.

The opposite sides 22 and the top side 23 will all be formed as I have illustrated at the top of Fig. 3, but the bottom side 24 will be differently formed and instead of the back wall I9 being spaced a sufficient distance so that it will just accommodate and cause the glass Ii], the picture II and the backing I2 to be pressed firmly into engagement, this back wall designated 25 will be rolled inwardly so that the bridging wall 26 will be of shorter width and the distance between the front side wall I4 and the back side wall 25 of this lower side will be such that it will just receive the glass II). Thus, this back side wall 25 will extend between the glass and the backing member and the picture along the extent of the lower side 2 By this arrangement the back I2 and the picture II may be slid from the frame and from beneath the side wall I9 of the top side 23 and the walls I9 of the sides 22, but the glass by reason of the rolling inwardly of the back wall I9 cannot be removed from position unless the frame is detached and taken apart.

By the provision of this arrangement, after the usual channel as described at the top of Fig. 3 is formed, I roll inwardly the wall 25 over the glass so that it extends upwardly further than heretofore and locks the glass in place. By this arrangement I am able to make an unacceptable frame acceptable in a very inexpensive construction.

I claim:

A generally rectangular picture frame or the like comprising a sheet of glass and a cardboard backing therefor, a frame comprising channel stock on the four sides thereof having spaced walls providing front and rear walls and with the extreme edge portions of said front walls having a bend therein extending towards the rear walls and providing a narrow glass-engaging surface, the narrow glass-engaging surface and the opposite walls of the channel stock engaging the outer surfaces of the glass and cardboard along the marginal edges of the top and two sides of the frame and the spaced walls of the bottom part of the frame being closer together than the other spaced walls and engaging only the opposite surfaces of the glass with one wall located between the glass and cardboard, the

width of the opposite side walls of the frame being such as to block swinging of the glass from between them whereby the cardboard may he slid from position in the frame While the glass is retained therein.

HARVEY A. PREW. 

